


The Closer You Get to the Fire the More You Get Burned

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“How long are we not supposed to talk?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Closer You Get to the Fire the More You Get Burned

**Author's Note:**

> This fic may already be obsolete, if the vague spoilers I'm seeing are any indication. But when you're a shipper you figure that’s the way the wind blows. Also, I go where the characters take me and they took me here today. This isn’t their official fanon anyway. The title comes from the Billy Joel song, _A Matter of Trust_. I also am using this story for the alphabet meme and [](http://sipman.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://sipman.livejournal.com/)**sipman** ’s prompt of **T is for tired**.

They weren't really speaking to each other. They’d been in some weird limbo since Ian Doyle was arrested and Emily Prentiss came back from the dead. All of this happened right under her nose. She’d been out for a while, dealing with her own issues, but that was five months ago. When she returned to the BAU it was back to business.

Except somewhere in there the world turned upside down. North was south and wrong was right. She was on the outside looking in, seeking answers to questions that made no sense. He was smack in the middle of it, working the case as if it was just another day. And as if the team didn’t have enough strikes against it, they had done it again.

They’d gone rogue. Hell, they were starting to make it look chic. When it was about one of their own, it was on. The more things changed the more they stayed the same. She wasn’t one of them…she wasn’t family. She wasn’t privy to Prentiss’ fake death or Morgan’s seven month hunt to trap the man who supposedly killed her.

She was brought in at the last minute and it wasn’t even as if they needed her then. Maybe they did but it didn’t matter because she was just a signature or a nod of the head. It still didn’t stop the Senate from coming at the BAU with full force. How could she possibly sit and defend something she knew nothing about?

How could she be perceived as a proficient and effective Section Chief when she had no clue what was going on right under her nose? Dammit! Damn him and all of them. Damn them straight to hell.

“Erin…”

“Don’t.” she held up her hand. Lighting another cigarette, knowing it was wrong but not caring, Erin took a deep inhale.

“I think we need to talk.” Dave replied.

“I don’t feel like talking and I think you’ve done enough.”

“The whole situation got complicated.”

“You think?”

Erin looked at him with a look Dave instantly recognized. It was the Strauss look and it wasn’t allowed in their house after 9pm. 9pm came and went a few hours ago.

“Erin…”

“I don’t even know what was happening in my own damn unit, David. Do you understand, even a little, how that makes me feel? Do you know how it felt to be fully exposed to colleagues, superiors, and the damn United States Senate as a school teacher with no control over her class?”

“We’re not children.” He replied.

“And I'm not the fuckin enemy!” she exclaimed.

“I never said…”

“I don’t want to talk to you. I'm not having this conversation and I want you to stop.”

“How long are we not supposed to talk?” Dave asked, crossing his arms. It was a defensive stance so he uncrossed them. It didn’t matter anyway because she wasn’t looking at him.

“Maybe until I can stop feeling like I want to scream and punch you until you bleed.”

“I didn't know Emily Prentiss was alive until she walked into that room, Erin. I knew something wasn’t right but how the hell would I ever suspect that. I also didn’t know that Morgan had been hunting Ian Doyle until right before Hotch landed in Quantico. We were all over the place; do you know how many cases we’ve done in the last seven months. I was burying myself in work, trying not to think about what I’d lost and what I’d come close to losing.”

“Why should I believe anything that you tell me?” she asked.

“Since that night four years ago when you kissed me, I have never lied to you. Because when I sat in that chapel while you were having surgery I swore to any God who would listen that I’d never let you go if he spared you. I told you a long time ago that Dave and Erin aren’t Rossi and Strauss. Rossi was just as in the dark as Strauss this time about things that happened over the last two and a half weeks.

“I didn’t have time to sit and take it all in…we had a job to do. We got rid of four evil murderers. A child and a person I love very much don’t have to hide anymore or look over their shoulders. I didn’t start this but I helped finish it. I won't apologize for it.”

Erin didn't say anything. Was there really anything to say? She hardly knew what was true and what wasn’t. Tomorrow was another big day for them. Emily Prentiss would be testifying in front of a Senate committee out for blood.

So would Aaron Hotchner and Dave Rossi. She could hardly imagine what Dave would say. He didn’t like it when anyone, including the woman he loved and for damn sure some politician, questioned how he and his team did their jobs. And this was more than a job, this was family business. She didn’t want to be in Senator Cramer’s shoes in the morning.

She heard Dave sigh, turn, and walk away. She was glad for the peace; Erin couldn’t handle him right now. This would have to be resolved eventually but tonight was not the time. They were still in the middle of it. Did he just expect her to accept everything he said on face?

In her heart she believed he probably wasn’t lying, mostly. It was for all the reasons he said and many more. That didn’t mean that Erin didn’t feel betrayed. She felt clueless, silly, and embarrassed. Those weren't easy feelings to shake off.

She didn’t have a team to catch all of her shit when it hit the fan. She thought she had a man but his hands were a little full at the moment. His allegiance was splintered; somehow she dealt with that for years. Right now she needed him by her side. Erin didn’t want to be diplomatic…she wanted to come first. She also wanted to know who knew about Emily Prentiss and when.

Knowing another cigarette was not a good idea considering her health, Erin gathered herself and her things. She needed to go to bed. It would be morning before she was ready. Hopefully this would all be over by tomorrow. Well, part of it would never be over.

The amount of professional, personal, and emotional repercussions coming from this was unknown. It was gonna be a bitch; that was about the only thing Erin knew for sure. She thought life being a bitch was over for the time being. It was another thing she found herself wrong about. Life, 5...Erin Strauss, 0.

***

  



End file.
